UPDATE: Clemens Moves to Pickoff McNamee Libel Suit

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Lawyers for seven-time Cy Young Award-winner Roger Clemens this week filed a motion to dismiss the defamation claim of his former trainer Brian McNamee in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (McNamee v. Clemens, Case No. 1:2009cv01647, filed 4/22/09).

Rocket Roger's attorneys claim the N.Y. federal district court presiding Senior Judge Sterling Johnson, Jr. lacks personal jurisdiction over the former ace because he was neither living in, nor working in New York when the suit was brought, and describe the ongoing annual payments Clemens receives from the World Champion Yankees as emanating from an Ohio limited partnership headquartered in Tampa, Fla.

McNamee's suit alleges that he was defamed by purported statements from Clemens and his spokespeople of manufacturing evidence--used needles and bloody gauze pads--turned over to federal investigators after the Mitchell Report was released that allegedly corroborated steroid use by the power pitcher. The motion to dismiss argues the statements are not defamatory because of the use of the word "apparently" before "manufactured evidence" and because the underlying accusation that Clemens used steroids and human growth hormones isn't true. The complaint also cites alleged comments by Clemens' spokespeople suggesting McNamee was mentally unstable and attempting to shake down Clemens.  In the motion to dismiss, Clemens' attorneys counter that the statements were not made seriously. Moreover, the motion contends that McNamee gave permission for Clemens to attack his credibility just before the Mitchell Report went public.

Earlier this year, Clemens' defamation suit against McNamee was dismissed by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas Judge Keith P. Ellison (William Roger Clemens v. Brian McNamee, Case No. 4:08cv00471) [see "TUOL" posts 9/7/09, 8/13/09, 7/2/09.]